IngredientsPlant monograph · zingiber officinale

Ginger, 6-gingerol, and the truth about 'warming'.

Ginger has been used on the scalp for centuries. The popular claim is that it makes hair grow. The honest reading of the literature is more interesting: ginger is not a hair-growth ingredient. It is a scalp-environment ingredient.

Latin name: Zingiber officinale Roscoe
Family / kind: Zingiberaceae
Part used: Rhizome
Key actives: 6-gingerol · 6-shogaol · zingerone
Tradition: Recorded use in Ayurveda and TCM for circulatory complaints

image — Zingiber officinale Roscoe source

Zingiber officinale Roscoe

01chapter

The rhizome.

Ginger is a tropical perennial whose underground stem — the rhizome — is the part used in food and medicine. The highland chemotype we source is grown in the Yunnan low-mountain belt, between roughly 1,200 and 1,800 metres, and is distinguished by a higher 6-gingerol-to-6-shogaol ratio than the lowland material.

02chapter

What ginger does on the scalp.

6-gingerol has been shown, in vitro, to modulate certain signalling pathways in cultured dermal papilla cells. It is also a well-known circulatory stimulant. The combination — gentle local warming, modest cellular signalling — is the basis of the traditional claim. It is not, however, a basis for claiming that ginger 'grows hair'.

03chapter

What the literature does not show.

We are aware of no double-blind, vehicle-controlled clinical trial of topical ginger that shows a hair-count effect at the level of the adenosine or minoxidil data. The six peer-reviewed studies we cite are mostly in-vitro or small open-label observations. We list them anyway, because we believe in citing the whole literature, not only the favourable half.

04chapter

How we use it.

Our extract is a CO₂-deodorised preparation of fresh highland rhizome, standardised to a minimum 6-gingerol content of 1.2%. We use it at low levels — typically 0.5% to 1.5% — as a complement to the more studied actives. It is a quiet ingredient in our formulas, not a flagship.

databy the numbers

What the evidence looks like.

peer-reviewed studies

mostly in-vitro or open-label

6-gingerol floor in our extract

1.2%

by HPLC

use level in our formulas

0.5–1.5%

low by design

double-blind trials

we cite what exists

q&afrequently asked

Questions we are often asked about ginger.

Can ginger regrow hair?

No credible clinical trial supports that claim. Ginger can support the local scalp environment — comfort, microcirculation, and the conditions the follicle already prefers — but it is not a regrowth ingredient. We use it because it does a small useful job, and we are honest about the size of the job.

Will it make my scalp tingle?

At the levels we use, most scalps do not tingle. Higher concentrations will. The folk-recipe approach of grating raw ginger onto the scalp is irritating and we do not recommend it.

Is fresh ginger the same as the extract?

Not quite. Fresh ginger has a different ratio of gingerols to shogaols than a standardised extract, and the concentration of active compounds varies by harvest. We standardise our extract so that every bottle is consistent.

references